Kitzinger v Danes
by GallifreyenCultOfSkaro
Summary: Jilly wants to see Oswald 'Category Zero', Torchwood need information. Jilly has that information. How far will they go to get it? Then the plan backfires and they end up in court, against Oswald, in a twisted game of life...or incineration.
1. Running Away

**Title: Kitzenger v Danes**

**Author: GallifreyenCultOfSkaro**

**Rating: T**

**Characters: Jillian K, Oswald D, Esther D, Capt. Jack H, Gwen C, Rex M, Toshiko Sato, Dr Owen Harper, Ianto Jones, Rhys W (minor- for now), Anwen (minor) OCs….maybe mentions of Dr Vera Juarez in later chapters.**

**Summary: After Oswald attacks her, Jilly is determined to see him burn in a Module. But Oswald has other ideas….if Jilly wants to avoid becoming a Category Zero herself, she'll need the help of Torchwood. Hurt, broken and alone, she is found by Esther Drummond, who, after hearing her story, wants to help. And since Oswald almost killed Jack, he has no problem going along with the plan….but lies will be told, evidence will be twisted and unless Jilly and Torchwood can win their case in court, they could ALL end up as Category Zeros.**

**Set: After the scene where Oswald hits Jilly.**

**A/N: I know Tosh, Owen, and Ianto are dead. I have some surprises in store….and yeah, I know Jilly really has been asking for a slap at the best of times, but this was simply BEGGING to be written! Enjoy! Or not! Your choice!**

As Oswald disappeared round the corner, the reality of the past few minutes hit Jilly Kitzenger, hard. Oswald….had _attacked_ her. She was sure if she hadn't fought back when she did, she'd be dead, like that poor schoolgirl. Over the past few weeks, she'd been doing business with a murderer. It was easier than she'd thought to make herself forget that, but really, she'd been putting her life at risk and she knew she'd been asking for what she got. But still….she shouldn't stay. Oswald was a criminal, and he was dangerous. She didn't want him coming back and finding her. Oddly, after realising this, she felt calmer. All she had to do was walk away, and never come back. And Oswald wasn't getting away clean. She would see him labelled Category Zero and watch him burn in one of those Modules if it was the last thing she ever did. Not wasting any more time, she walked back into her room, pulled on her jacket and picked up her handbag, containing her car keys, purse and phone. As she was about to leave, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her face was deathly pale, even paler against her vibrant copper hair. Her lipstick had been smudged in the fight, but it still showed, a dark red against her ivory skin. Two large, dark, frightened eyes stared back at her from the mirror. She knew she had to leave before Oswald came back. She didn't look like she could fight off a small cat, let alone a man twice her size (and age). She hurried out of the door, not looking back.

Esther Drummond hurried along the darkened street, bag clutched tightly in one hand. She didn't mind doing the shopping really, but it might be nice if Rex or Jack helped out occasionally. But, of course, them being men, it fell to herself and Gwen to do it. Not many people were out, which was just as well. She didn't know who she would meet at half-eleven at night, on a dark, deserted street in a large city. It had rained earlier, and the night had a dark chill to it. Not wanting to stay out any longer than she had to, Esther broke into a run.

A sleek silver car jerked its way along the road, a shaky redhead behind the wheel. She tried to turn a corner, but found her hands were shaking too much and she hit the curb instead. Jilly had been driving for 10 minutes and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't seem to get control of the car. Sighing, she pulled over and got out of her car, deciding to walk until she found a decent hotel in which to spend the night. There were plenty in the city; she was sure finding one wouldn't take long. Her pace quickened as she walked, long shadows looming out at her, the slightest sound making her jump.

"Calm down." she told herself. "Just keep it together. You're Jilly Kitzenger. You can do this."

A car horn beeped a few streets away, loud and harsh. Jilly broke into a run, not watching where she was going. As she rounded the corner, she slammed into another running figure, sending them both to the ground. The blonde lady got up and held her hand out to help Jilly up.

"I am so sorry, are you ok?"

Jilly opened her eyes and looked up. The woman looked vaguely familiar…

"Oh my God, it's you. That Torchwood lady."

The blonde looked at her curiously. "Yeah, and I think I recognise you too….oh, where have I seen you before?"

"Jilly Kitzenger, Public Relations."

The blonde woman nodded. "Yes, that was it! You were with that Oswald Danes."

Jilly shook her head. "No! I have got absolutely nothing to do with Oswald _bloody_ Danes!"

The woman from Torchwood knelt down beside her. "I'm Esther, Esther Drummond."

"Nice meeting you, Esther Drummond."

"Has…has someone attacked you?" Esther asked. "It's just that….well…your face is really pale, there's blood on your mouth, your shaking noticeably and you jumped when I said 'attacked'. Is everything alright?"

Jilly took a deep breath before pushing herself upright. "Can I trust you?"

Esther nodded. "Of course, I wanna help."

So Jilly told Esther everything, from the meaning of Category Zero to Oswald hitting her to when she ran away. All the while Esther listened like a spellbound child.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed when Jilly had finished. "So that's why you're bleeding! Come on, I'll take you back with me and you can get cleaned up."

"Are you sure? I mean, not that I'm still working with him or anything, but isn't Oswald, like, one of Torchwood's most wanted? I _represented_ him. When Jack tried to get him on your side, I'm the one who kept him doing PhiCorp's dirty work."

"Yes, but like you said, you no longer work with him, and he's hurt you quite badly. You need help."

When Esther and Jilly arrived at the place where Torchwood was currently set up, Jack was thumping a laptop and Rex was staring blankly at the same document he'd been looking at when Esther left, which was nearly an hour ago.

"Hey guys, anything new come up?" she asked, dropping the shopping bag on the floor.

Jack jumped up. "Esther, thank God you're back! How the hell do you work this laptop?"

Esther sighed and walked over to the table and pressed **ctrl** and **z**. "There you go, back to normal."

Jack looked rather sheepish. "….thanks."

No-one had noticed the pale redhead leaning against the wall, tired from the walk back, especially as her ankle was hurt. Esther coughed slightly and Rex finally looked up from the document. Jack turned away from the laptop. Esther nodded her head towards Jilly.

"Oh man, what's she doing here?" Rex asked exasperatedly.

"Look, I quite literally ran into her a few blocks away, she's tired and injured and she needs a place to rest."

"Why can't she just go back to her hotel and _Oswald Danes_?"

Esther ignored Rex's question and waited for the truth to sink in. His eyes widened.

"Oh my God, Danes did this?"

Esther nodded. "Just let her stay tonight. We can ask questions tomorrow."

Jack nodded. "Esther has a point. Oswald could and has been proven to be a dangerous man. I vote we let her stay."

Rex shrugged and turned back to the document. "Whatever you think is best, but don't expect me to help her on anything. As far as I'm concerned, she may as well be a piece of furniture." And with that he returned to the document. Esther turned to Jilly.

"You wanna lie down? That ankle looks pretty painful."

Jilly limped obediently to the nearest sofa and collapsed onto it, glad to finally rest.

"I can get you a painkiller if you want?" Esther offered. From her spot on the couch, Jilly nodded. Esther disappeared and came back a minute later with a tiny needle. "You're ok with needles, right? It's just that we don't have any tablets left, so it's either this or the pain."

Personally, Jillian Kathleen Kitzenger hated needles. She hated the tiny pointiness of them, the way they felt when they were pushed into her skin. The thought of them alone made her shudder. Esther must have seen the look on her face, because she burst out laughing and collapsed onto the sofa next to Jilly.

"Yeah, I hate needles too." she said. "God, I used to hate it at school when we had to have injections. But seriously, it's the only painkiller we have."

Jilly considered this. "Fine. Just don't….just be quick with it." She turned her head away so she didn't have to watch. Esther quickly injected the painkiller into Jilly's arm and actually felt the red-haired woman stiffen as the needle went in.

_My God_, thought Jilly, _I **felt**_ _that. I felt that painkiller running through me for a second. Creepy_.

"You alright?" asked Esther.

"I'm fine; I just don't like needles that much."

Suddenly, Jack took it upon himself to check the time and go ballistic. "Oh my God, it's nearly 2 am! I'm gonna go get some sleep."

"I thought you never slept?" enquired a curious voice from the corner. Gwen Cooper emerged from the shadows.

"I do, occasionally." Jack replied.

Gwen nodded, and then turned to Jilly. "Us letting you be here, this means we're trusting you, giving you the benefit of the doubt. I didn't say anything when you came in because I was giving you a chance to get sorted out. Now you're sorted out, you can listen to me. You're not to go telling anyone any of our business, alright? What you hear, you keep to yourself."

Jilly nodded. "I understand."

Gwen gave her one last look that was impossible to read before curling up on another sofa and going to sleep. Jack shrugged and found a mattress to lie down on, Rex doing the same. Esther, still seated next to Jilly, pulled her feet up off the floor and made herself comfortable where she was, not bothering to find a spare mattress. Jilly did the same thing, wincing slightly when she moved her ankle. Soon, everyone but her was sleeping soundly, and she couldn't help looking at the people that –she had to admit it- probably saved her life. Gwen was tucked away under a blanket. Her face should have been peaceful, but it wasn't. Something about it just…._wasn't_. Even in sleep, her face was impossible to read. Gwen Cooper-Williams, the Impossible Woman. Rex was sprawled across his mattress, facing the ceiling, a blanket lying discarded. Jilly wondered why he wasn't freezing cold. She was. Jack Harkness, as odd as he was flirty, seemed to sleep weirdly as well as live life as thoroughly weirdly as was possible. He slept on his side, sort of half curled up, head resting on his arm. Whilst Gwen's expression had been as difficult to decode as the Rosetta Stone, and Rex's expression has simply said 'I'm sleeping', if Captain Jack Harkness hadn't have had his eyes closed, Jilly could've sworn he was studying some extremely fascinating minute creature on the floor. He didn't quite look…._happy_, exactly, but he was not far off. She turned her head to look at Esther, blissfully sleeping on the other end of the couch. She was the only one who looked truly peaceful, blissful, like an angel. Like a sweet, innocent child. A sweet, innocent child who had most likely saved Jilly Kitzenger from being murdered or going mad. Jilly realised how tired she was. Closing her eyes, she finally slipped away into sleep.

_She was running down a long, dark tunnel. She didn't know how she could even tell it was a tunnel, because all it was was darkness, it was just __**black**_. _She was running faster now, someone was chasing her, they'd nearly caught up with her….someone was grabbing the back of her jacket. She wriggled out of it and fell to the ground. She pushed herself up and kept running, but there was a shadow looming towards her, too quickly for her to avoid it. She fell slap-bang into it, and strong hands picked her up. She was staring right into the face of Evil, and only then did she realise she was looking at the face of Oswald Danes. _

"_I've caught you now, Jilly." Oswald breathed. "You are mine, and this time you cannot escape…."_

"_No, no, stop!" she screamed, desperate for someone, anyone to hear her. "Stop it, Oswald! Please, please!"_

_Suddenly, the darkness dissolved into the hotel room, her hotel room. She was backed up against the wall, and Oswald was right in front of her, hitting her, screaming and swearing at her._

"_It was all your fault!" he was screaming. "You called the cops, you got me arrested. I'm gonna burn in that oven, Jilly, and it's all your fault!"_

_He was hitting her harder now, and tears of pain sprung to her eyes. "Ow! Stop, stop, just stop it now! Get off of me! I'll stop them burning you, I'll do anything, just stop hurting me!"_

_Once again, the scene around her changed. They were in one of the modules, and someone outside was locking the door. Before she knew what was going on, flames sprung up all around her. Somewhere behind her, Oswald Danes laughed. _

"_You and me, Kitzenger! They're burning us both, together, and you're going down with me!"_

_She jumped up, slamming herself against the door, over and over, screaming for help, tears pouring down her face, flames licking nearer, nearer. No-one came. The flames begun to creep up her legs, and Jilly screamed in pain and collapsed. Oswald kept laughing, the flames engulfed her body and she could do nothing but scream and scream for help that would never come. Still nobody came, and she began to lose consciousness. _

'_You and me Kitzenger…..they're burning us both…..you're going down with me….'_

Someone was shaking her, calling her name. Slowly, Jilly became aware of the cold, hard floor underneath her, of a sharp pain in her ankle, of the people standing over her. Esther was kneeling by her side, a worried expression on her face.

"Jilly? _Jilly_!"

"Wh- what?"

Esther breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Jilly was awake. "Are you ok? You were tossing and turning, saying things like 'stop hurting me' and you were screaming."

Jilly tried to calm her breathing. "It was nothing." she murmured tiredly. "Just….just a nightmare."

She could tell from the look on Esther's face that she didn't really believe that it was _just_ a nightmare, but the blonde didn't say anything. Months later, when all the evidence came together and everything else fell apart, she would come to wish she had.

**A/N: So, how was it? Good, bad, terrible, awful….please review and tell me? **

**Cheers,**

**GallifreyenCultOfSkaro xxx**


	2. Explanations, Understandings & Decesions

**Kitzenger v Danes**

**Chapter Two**

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, in a great contrast to the Torchwood team's moods. Breakfast was a solemn affair of burnt toast and lukewarm tea. After everyone had finished, Gwen stood up.

"Right!" she announced purposefully. "Question time."

Everyone else looked at her.

"I want to know the story behind her." Gwen went on, nodding at Jilly. "We've heard last night's events from Esther; now let's hear the full version. Who exactly is she, why is she here, and more importantly, why should we trust her?"

Jilly stood up. "What happened to giving me the 'benefit of the doubt'?"

"Nothing. But I'd feel better knowing who I was giving the benefit to."

"Fair enough. My name's Jilly Kitzenger, I work in Public Relations. Up until yesterday I represented Oswald Danes, and I'm here because he attacked me, and one of your friends offered me help. Happy now?"

"And why should we trust you? After taking orders from PhiCorp? You could be anyone, people don't just stumble into PhiCorp jobs by accident."

"Well, if you really must know, I'm trying to support my daughter!" Jilly snapped, forgetting all her self-control. "I didn't ask for a job at PhiCorp, it was offered to me! It was the only way to keep Social Services from taking my daughter away from me, not that that worked anyway because I had to move for my job. I couldn't take Abigail with me, so she's staying with my sister. I haven't seen her in six months and I'm scared she's gonna grow up with no clue who I am. I'm scared I'll go home one day and find that I've missed my chance to be with her, or that the Social Workers really will take legal guardianship of her away. She's only four but she's the only thing I have. My husband left me when she was two months old! I had to practically raise her myself, and he didn't leave me with a single penny, so excuse me for taking whatever job I could to try and keep my child from being taken away!"

When Jilly had finished, a silence lapsed over the team. Esther looked sympathetic, Gwen looked embarrassed, Rex looked indifferent, and Jack looked….well, like Jack.

"I….uh…I wasn't…I mean, I didn't mean it like…" Gwen stammered, embarrassed.

Jilly shook her head. "It doesn't matter, you didn't know. It's just…..if I could make enough money, I could get a proper house and have Abigail back."

"Hey, I've got an idea." Esther said.

Gwen smiled sympathetically. "I'm sure you'll have enough eventually. Then you'll have your house and your daughter again."

Esther tried again. "Guys, person with a good idea here!"

"I mean, I know how terrible I'd feel if I lost my little girl. Her name's Anwen, she's so sweet, you'd love her." Gwen went on. "It must be horrible not being able to see Abigail anymore."

"Guys!" Esther shouted. "I have got an idea!"

Gwen and Jilly turned to look at her. "Why didn't you just say so?" asked Gwen. Esther sighed and flopped into a seat.

"…so then, we win our case and Oswald becomes Cat Zero. He's carted off to a Module, we never see him again, and Jilly has enough money to get Abigail back!"

Jilly looked at her. "You…want me….to take Oswald….to _court_?"

Esther nodded. "Yeah. C'mon, he's already as good as Cat Zero. You prosecute him for this; he'll be in that oven faster than you can say 'Wow, what a great idea, Esther'."

"I'll never win it." Jilly said. "He's probably already hugged a puppy in front of a camera or something, and won everyone over _again_."

Esther gave her a secretive smile. "_I_ wouldn't be so sure if I were you."

She pulled what looked like official documents out of her bag.

"_These_ are the records of Oswald's murder trial."

The team looked subtly impressed.

Esther pulled out a video tape.

"_This_ is the video of him attacking you in the hotel room."

The team now looked suitably impressed.

This time, Esther pulled out a sheet containing a record of emails.

"_These_ are from Danes to PhiCorp. Personally, I found it pretty interesting, especially when he says, and I quote; 'Kitzenger is annoying, power-loving and hates the very sight of me. Why am I stuck with this bitch? Since I helped you capture Harkness (even if it didn't go to plan), you owe me a favour. Sending Kitzenger to Australia might be a start. Or maybe we should just kill her. After all, no-one can really _die_ anymore.

-Oswald'

Not only does it contain some not-so-nice things about you, he also admits to helping capture Jack."

Everyone was beyond impressed now.

Rex said "Esther, do I wanna know how you got all these?"

"Hey, that is- actually, you probably don't." Esther replied.

"Right."

Jack laughed. "Well done, Esther, you're learning."

Jilly stood up and clapped her hands together excitedly. "Right. Let's take a murderer to court!"

The rest of the day passed in a haze of phone calls, emails, more phone calls, more emails….it was a long day.

"Hello, Esther speaking. What? Oh, right, yes. Of course. No, I'm sorry; Miss Kitzenger isn't available right now. Yes, yes, I get it, this is gonna be a very big story, but I'm afraid Miss Kitzenger really can't take your call. I'll tell her to ring you back the moment she's free, ok? Yes, yes, alright. Ok. Bye, Mr Daniels."

"Hello? Yes. Yes, tomorrow, nine am sharp. Really? Well, we're very pleased you want to put it on the news. What do you mean, who is this? This is Jack Harkness, _Captain_ Jack Harkness. What company? Ehh….uhh…I…."

Jack looked wildly around the room for inspiration and his eyes fell on a picture that had fluttered out of his wallet, of the old Torchwood team.

"Yeah, I'm still here. Yes, of course, my company…it's….umm….Harper's Jellied Eels!"

_Nice one, Jack. Nice one_

"Well, the company wanted to know why a man from Harper's Jellied Eels was representing Jilly Kitzenger, but on the whole I think I did quite well." Jack told the rest of his team over dinner. Gwen sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Harper's Jellied Eels? Really, Jack?"

Rex and Esther gave them Questioning Looks. Jilly decided she was better off not knowing.

"It's an inside joke." Gwen explained. "You probably don't want to know, trust me."

Jilly thought; _Amen to that._

**I know this chapter was shorter, I'm not yet sure about the length of the next one, but most after that should be fairly long. My aim is to have at least 30 chapters, think I can do it? Also, thanks to **_**americanmary**_** and **_**CaskettLover**_** for adding this to Story Alert/Fave Story and also Author Alert/Fave Author. Cheers for that, guys! X**

**BTW, anyone wanna leave me a quick review? :P**

**GallifreyenCultOfSkaro**


	3. Part I: An Alliance Is Formed

**Kitzinger v Danes**

**Chapter Three: Part I**

**An Alliance Is Formed**

**A/N: Wow, I can't believe how many people have viewed this already! Thanks! As always, please enjoy, and please review. But mostly enjoy. :) Oh, and I do not own Torchwood. Or this story would be the next episode. Or even the next series.**

The room was in darkness and its occupants were all sleeping soundly. This time, Rex and Gwen took a sofa whilst Jack, Esther and Jilly lay down on the mattresses. Unfortunately, one of them was broken and several springs stuck boldly out of it, and as a result, Jilly and Esther were forced to share a mattress. It wasn't that either of them minded –they didn't- but the mattresses were rather small and it was easy to get cramped when curled up on one by yourself, let alone with another person. However, they were all tired from the day, and managed to fall asleep quickly. Dark shadows fell across the floor and crept up the walls, a tap drip-drip-dripped somewhere, cars drove by outside, but the five slept, oblivious to Life.

_She was pushed up against the wall again, and he was hitting her, ignoring her cries of pain and protest._

The door creaked open, slowly revealing tall, shadowy figures standing in the doorway.

_She fell to the floor, pain slowly sinking in to her body._

The shadows moved past the door and into the room, treading slowly, carefully, silently.

_A faint red glow flickered below the floor, and Jilly felt the floor underneath her grow slightly warm._

A light flickered in the far corner of the room, casting even more shadows around, dancing in the burning glow.

_Flames flickered up around her; she screamed for help and no-one was coming…._

Jilly Kitzinger opened her eyes and stared up at the dark ceiling.

_Just a dream, _she told herself. _Nothing to be scared about. It's not real, only a stupid-_

Her train of thought was cut off by her sudden scream. There were people moving about in the room! She stopped herself screaming too late. The shadows had heard her and turned around. Luckily, the others were had been woken by her scream. Jack, Rex, and Gwen, being the most experienced, jumped up and grabbed the nearest guns. Esther's hands found a large china vase.

"Whoever you are, put your hands up and come where we can see you." Rex ordered. The shadows obeyed, and stepped forward. The leader was small and slim, with olive skin and dark hair piled neatly on top of her head. Two men, one pale with brown hair, one tall and dark with black hair pulled back into a ponytail stood there. The woman said;

"Hello, Jilly Kitzinger."

Jilly's eyes widened. "Oh my God, Amelia?"

Rex turned to stare at her. "You know these people?"

"Not personally, just by name. I used to work in the same office as them at PhiCorp."

Amelia feigned hurt surprise. "Jilly, I feel so betrayed! We were good friends."

Jilly actually laughed. "Is that what you called it?"

Esther looked between the two of them, confused. "Ok, what's going on here?"

Jilly sighed. "Amelia and I worked in the same office at PhiCorp. This was when I had just started working for them and they were still testing my abilities. The week after I started, they brought in Amelia. We talked a bit, but that was it, really. So what are you doing here, Amelia?"

Amelia smirked. "I'm a reporter now." she informed them. "Here to question you."

"At…." Jilly checked her phone. "….3.55 am? Amelia, get over yourself, you're not _that_ good an actress. Why are you here?"

"Well, if you really must know…" Amelia sighed, fiddling absentmindedly with her Blackberry, "We're here under orders from Oswald Danes."

"What!"

Esther dropped the china vase she was holding. "What?"

Amelia nodded. "You heard me. And he wants us to kill you."

Jilly gave a fake-sympathetic sigh. "Why? Is he scared?"

"He feels it would be…uhh….in his _better interests_ if you were 'out of the way', so to speak. I mean, a court case, Jilly? C'mon, he's already the most notorious man on the planet. What you're doing could just remind everyone of that, and Oswald doesn't want that.

_Oh my God._ Jilly thought. _He's replaced me. With _Amelia!_ Did I really act like her when I worked with him? Jesus, I hope not._

"Look," she began, bracing herself for a fight, "I did represent Oswald Danes for a while, I understand the kind of things he does. I know if he wants me dead, he won't give up until either he's forced to or he's distracted by a better offer. But Amelia, you're replacing me, which makes you the same as me, which means if you don't play your cards exactly right, it'll be easy for you to end up like I am now."

Amelia did her irritatingly smug smirk again and raised her eyebrows. "You mean badly dressed and hiding away in an old apartment with a bunch of complete nutcases? Eh, I do _not_ think so!"

"Firstly, this dress cost more than both your houses put together!" Jilly snapped, tired of the back-and-forward arguing. "Secondly, I'm not 'in hiding', I'm not in this old place by choice and these people are not nutcases!" She cast a slightly apologetic look at Jack. "Well, he is, but the rest of us are perfectly normal!"

"Hey!" Jack cried, outraged, from where he was standing.

Keeping her eyes firmly fixed on Amelia, Jilly replied "Sorry, but it's true."

"Can't argue with her there, Jack." Gwen said. The others nodded.

Amelia sighed. "As interesting as this discussion is, I believe I have a murder to attend to."

Up until that moment, Jilly Kitzinger hadn't actually been scared. Amelia had never been a threat to her before, and she wasn't one now. That is, she wasn't one until she pulled out a gun and pointed it straight at Jilly. That was the moment when Jilly Kitzinger started to feel scared.

"Amelia," she started, using all of her power to stay calm, "Amelia, listen to me. You aren't the sort of person who'd pull that trigger and shoot me. I mean, you _say_ you might, but would you really? I don't think so."

"Oh, I do think so." Amelia replied, her voice quiet yet determined. "Goodbye, Jilly Kitzinger."

Instantly, Amelia found three guns all pointed at her.

"Leave now." Jack ordered. "Or we will shoot."

"And what if I shoot first?" Amelia asked, taking one step closer. The others also took a step forward, almost in a protective fashion. The only things between Jilly and Amelia were four people, one completely unarmed. This did not go unnoticed.

"She," Amelia nodded at Esther, "doesn't even have a gun. What if I shoot her?"

"Don't even try it." The voice came from somewhere just behind Amelia. In the stand-off between Amelia and Torchwood, no-one had noticed Jilly edging round the room to where the small, dark-haired woman stood. "I took self-defence classes once." she continued. "If you even try shooting any of them, I will knock you unconscious."

"You seem to have forgotten, Jilly, but we were in the same class." Amelia replied, and in one swift, unidentifiable motion, she flung Jilly across the room. Esther, the only one who wasn't preoccupied pointing a gun at Amelia, reached out and grabbed her to stop her hitting the wall. She was sure that hadn't exactly done much good to Jilly's injured ankle, either.

"Look, I don't care who you're working for, if you don't get outta here, I'm gonna make sure you end up Cat. One." Rex told her, not making any attempt to lower his gun, despite the fact that Amelia was obviously slightly more dangerous than they had first thought. "I'm warning you, Amelia, you better leave."

Amelia shrugged. "Fine. I'm late for a thing anyway. But don't think this is the last time you'll see me. I'll find you again, when and where you least expect it." She turned to the two men behind her. "C'mon, boys, let's leave them in peace…for now." With that, she turned and marched purposefully out, the men following. A silence followed, Gwen being the first to break it.

"What the bloody hell just happened?"


	4. Part II: Miracle Day?

**Kitzinger v Danes**

**Chapter Three: Part II**

**Miracle Day?**

**A/N: Thanks for reading this far! Also, a big thank you to anyone who's read my other **_**Miracle Day**_** fic, **_**You Called My Name**_**, which focuses on Gwen, Jilly, and how they view themselves and those around them. Mostly Angst, I think, with a small Hurt/Comfort element. Takes place during **_**The Blood Line**_**. But anyway, we're not here to talk about that! On with the Disclaimer!**

**Disclaimer: Sorry, still don't own **_**Torchwood: Miracle Day**_**. I'm just borrowing it. I'll give it back, honest! *fingers crossed*…**

**Oh, sorry, one more thing…the title of my last chapter (An Alliance Is Formed) may not have made sense. The way I see it is that there's this sort of divide between Torchwood and Jilly- they're kinda working together on the court case, but there isn't really anything **_**connecting**_** them until Amelia comes in, points a gun at Jilly, and almost unconsciously, they're all 'Oh no you don't' and this thing just **_**clicks**_** and falls into place because suddenly they're united against this person. And then (even if it did backfire), Jilly warns Amelia not to harm the others or else she'll basically knock her unconscious, and that's sort of like the last country signing the defence treaty or something. Basically, they're all allied now. Even if some of them still don't like eachother. *cough* Rex and Jilly *cough***

_Previously_

"_We're here under orders from Oswald Danes, and he wants us to kill you."_

_The others took a step closer, almost in a protective fashion. "If you don't get outta here, I'm gonna make sure you end up Cat. One."_

"_Fine. But don't think this is the last time you'll see me." Amelia turned and marched out of the door._

_Gwen was the first to speak. "What the bloody hell just happened?"_

"Guys, some help here?" Esther called. Thanks to Oswald and Amelia, Jilly could hardly stand up, and Esther was having to support most of her.

"Hang on; I'll give you a hand." Gwen said, and between them, they managed to help Jilly onto one of the mattresses _without_ hard springs poking out if it.

"Are you okay?" Esther asked, knowing full-well that after that, none of them were ok, but she felt obligated to ask all the same. Jilly gave her a Look.

"My ankle is killing me, our apartment got broken into at 4 in the morning and I've just had a gun pointed at me. How do you _think_ I am?"

Gwen looked almost sympathetic. "Welcome to Torchwood."

"Y'know, Gwen Cooper, that might just become your catchphrase." Jack grinned, striding over from where he had been talking to Rex. "But seriously, though, this kinda thing happens a lot in Torchwood, so don't dismiss it as a one-off."

Gwen laughed. "Remember the time you called me and Tosh in at ten past two to tell us you, Owen, and Ianto were sure there was a burglar in the Hub 'cos all the food had gone, and I said 'What kind of burglar takes your food but not the expensive equipment?', but you were all panicky so I go and take a look, and yeah, all the food's gone. So I go back to Jack's office and Toshiko's in there with the others, laughing her head off, so I say 'What's so funny, Tosh?', and she says…she says…" Gwen stopped speaking for a moment in order to control her laughter, "…she says 'Owen, tell Gwen where the food is.' and he looks at me really matter-of-factly, and he says to me 'We ate it.' They ate it! Honestly! Some burglar! Wake me and Tosh up at ten past two when we've hardly slept for a week, and all for _that_!"

Esther gave Jack a disbelieving look. "Seriously?"

Jack looked sheepish. "Uh…yeah."

"And yet you consider it offensive when I call you a nutcase?" Jilly asked, her expression mirroring Esther's.

"What Jack considers normal, we consider illegal. A lot of things don't make sense in Torchwood, and Jack makes up most of them." Gwen explained. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, until the soft buzzing of a mobile phone started up.

"Oh, that's mine." Jilly said. "Could someone pass it over?"

"Rex, throw me the phone!" Jack called, and Rex did so.

"Careful with that! BlackBerrys don't come cheap, you know!"

Rex did nothing to indicate he had heard Jilly, but Jack, being Jack, made a great show of carefully passing the phone over to her. Gwen raised her eyebrows at him, as if to say 'Really, Jack?" Meanwhile, Jilly had answered her phone.

"Hello? Oh, hi Andrea! How are you? Good. Yeah, I'm ok, thanks. No, actually, I'm…uh…I'm staying with friends right now. Why? No, nothing's wrong, I just fancied a vacation, is all. You did? Ah. Well then, that's 3 seconds of thinking up a good cover story down the drain! Really? Thanks, Andrea. Yeah, ok. Just get some rest and I'll call you tomorrow, alright? Right. Bye, Andrea." She hung up. The others were staring at her, shamelessly eavesdropping on her conversation.

"Who was that?" Jack asked. Gwen elbowed him in the ribs, having the good grace to be embarrassed about listening in.

"That," Jilly told him, "was my sister Andrea. She heard about….what happened and wanted to see what was going on."

This explanation seemed to satisfy the others, because they quickly moved on to discussing more anecdotes from Torchwood, pre-Miracle. Jilly listened for a while, but eventually tiredness got the better of her and she slept for a bit.

When the team plus Jilly later tried to explain what exactly had woken them at a quarter to six in the morning for no apparent reason, the best explanation they could come up with was;

"Like something was inside my head."

"The Miracle." Jack said grimly. "The confusion, the terror. After a while it gets to you, starts to creep inside your mind, keeps you awake all through the endless nights until you go mad."

"Cheerful thought." Gwen commented. "But it kind of makes sense. Even if 'Miracle Day' doesn't seem to be such a miracle anymore."

The others agreed.

"There was something else, too." Esther said. "I was looking down into…I don't know what, like a big…sort of a canyon, and inside it…" she trailed off, not sure how much more she ought to tell them.

"What was it? What did you see in there?" Jack asked, leaning forward ever so slightly like an eager child requesting a much-loved bedtime story.

Esther shook her head. "I can't describe it. It was like…."

"Like looking at your worst nightmare?" Jilly supplied. Esther looked at her.

"You too?"

Jilly nodded. "Yes. It was like I was a kid, stuck in one of my nightmares again. It felt so real….I'm sure I was underneath a city…somewhere far-off…" she thought for a moment. "Shanghai! That's it, I was somewhere underneath Shanghai! Where were you?"

"I dunno. I don't think it was Shanghai. Just a minute…now you mention it, it did have a name…I think it was Buenos Aires."

"Buenos Aires?"

"Yeah."

"Interesting."

_I wonder what that was that Esther and I saw. _Jilly thought, her mind straying to the mysterious canyon and what lay inside.

**A/N: I know, I know, it was short, but I PROMISE to make my next chapter at least seven pages long! **

'**What the bloody hell just happened?' seemed like a good place to end the last chapter, so Parts I and II were born!**

**Au revoir! I'm off to work on Chapter Four! Really, I just can't stop writing!**

**Oh, and I suppose I must add a bit to the summary: *cue dramatic music***

**Just what is this strange place in Shanghai Jilly keeps dreaming about? Could there be something going on that's even above PhiCorp…? Or is it all a trap?**


	5. Preparations and Precautions

**Kitzinger v Danes**

**Chapter Four: Preparations**

**Author's Note: WOW. So may views, and loads of hits! Thanks :) **

**I don't want to sound desperate, but it'd be really nice to get an opinion on this that isn't my mum's, so…reviews? 'Cause I need to know how to improve this. **

**Disclaimer: Torchwood is not mine. End of.**

_Isn't it amazing_, Jilly thought to herself as she helped Esther copy some files from her laptop onto a small disc, _how when your mind gets hold of a single idea, it just won't let go? This thing Esther and I dreamed about last night…it terrified me, yet, at the same time, I feel almost like it's calling out to me, drawing me to the edge….and maybe even over the edge. Because what I saw –or rather, what I didn't get to see- was beautiful. Like the very essence of life was down there, everything, glowing in one wonderful, impossible pattern that just has to be solved. And I want to be the one to solve it. And if that's true….then it must hold the answer to all this. The Miracle, and how to end it. How to win our case. Everything. If I could understand it, I could find those answers…_

"Hello, Earth to Jilly Kitzinger?"

Jilly snapped out of her daydream to see Esther giving her a slightly odd look.

"Are you done staring into space? 'Cause I need a password to get that video from the hotel room."

"What? Oh, yeah, right." Jilly leaned over and tapped a password into the box provided.

"Thanks. What _were_ you thinking about, anyway? You were totally zoned out."

"Nothing. Just…that thing last night. The dream."

"Ah."

It had been on both their minds quite a bit for most of the morning.

"Hey, Jilly?"

"Yeah?"

"I know how real it felt, and how weird it was, but I think it might be a good idea to try and forget about it. It may seem like just a dream, but I can see Jack's scared by it. I think that he thinks it's some kind of trap, mind manipulation or something. And if that really is the case, we shouldn't dwell too much on it." Esther said. Jilly nodded in agreement.

"You're probably right."

_But if __**I'm**__ right….I wonder what I could do, if I could understand what it's saying to me? It could tell us how to win this thing…..how to end the Miracle…..it could change the world, I'm sure it could…if only I understood what it's saying…._

Jack, who had been preoccupied sorting through documents for most of the morning, looked up. "Anyone fancy a break?"

His suggestion was met with enthusiasm, and soon the five of them were sitting in a small café, sipping coffee. For Jack and Gwen, who, after Ianto's famous coffee, could drink hardly any other type, it came as a pleasant surprise.

"Wow, this is almost as good as Ianto's." Gwen said, savouring the taste of it. J

Jack nodded. "This may be the best coffee I've had in months."

They sat enjoying their drinks in silence for a few minutes before Jack spoke up again. "Ok, after last night's events, in particular, the first one, I think we need to go over a few things. Firstly, I don't think it's a good idea to stay in that apartment for any longer than we need to, in case Amelia comes back. So, I've booked us into the hotel down the street."

"Which hotel?" Gwen asked. "There's at least five down that street."

"The Miltonian."

Jilly smiled. "Jack, you're fantastic!"

Jack looked slightly bemused yet happy. "I know. …What part of my fantastic-ness are we talking about?"

"That's the hotel Oswald and I were staying in. This makes it easier to get information. You know, question the staff and guests, see if they saw or heard anything suspicious."

Jack nodded again. "Good thinking. And that brings us on to our next issue."

He looked at Jilly as he spoke. "You had a gun pointed at you last night and Amelia may very well have pulled that trigger and shot you. In the interest of safety, I don't want you going off on your own and I want the rest of you to keep an eye out for anything out-of-the-ordinary. Clear?"

"Wait a minute. I can't go anywhere on my own?" Jilly asked. "I always have to have one of you with me?"

Jack shrugged. "Sorry, but it's just a precaution. If you enjoy being killed then go right ahead and wander off."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "You make charming conversation, Jack."

"I like to think of it as a gift." he grinned.

"You're the only one, Jack. Anyway, shouldn't we be getting back? We still have a lot of work to do, and if we're moving to the Miltonian, we ought to do some packing, too."

The others voiced their agreement, so Jack went to pay.

"Jesus Christ." Gwen muttered, shaking her head. "I don't believe it."

"What?" Esther asked. "Is it Jack?"

Gwen nodded. "The bloody idiot's gone to pay with English money."

"Should we tell him?"

They considered this option. "How about we let him work it out for himself?" Gwen suggested, a grin spreading across her face.

Half an hour, one massive argument with the waitress on Jack's part, a lot of laughing on everyone else's part, and one severe lecture later, they were back at the apartment, Jack refusing to speak to any of them.

"Come on Jack, it's quite funny when you think about it." Gwen said, in a futile effort to make him talk.

"We're sorry we didn't tell you, but we didn't know the waitress would be so mad." Esther added, also trying to make amends with Jack.

Rex sighed. "Jack, this is ridiculous. You gotta talk sooner or later."

Jack still did not speak.

All of a sudden, an idea came into Jilly's head. "Hey, Jack, what's all this about these dreams being 'mind-manipulation'? Only, Esther said you thought that's what's going on."

"I never said that!"

There was a stunned silence before everyone started laughing. Well, everyone apart from Jack.

"It's not funny!" he protested, not very convincingly.

Esther held up her hands in mock-surrender. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry."

Jack might have taken her more seriously if she wasn't still laughing.

"Knew I could make you talk to us." Jilly said.

Jack tried his best to look dignified. "You did not, I _chose_ to talk!"

"Sure you did…"

"I did!"

"Look, I don't care what happened, but can we please move on now?" asked Rex, who was once again witness to Torchwood's amazing lack of professionalism. "What is all this 'mind-manipulation' stuff anyway?"

"I saw something similar to this once." Jack said. "It was years ago, hundreds of years back into my past, and a thousand years into your future."

"Oh, here we go again." Rex muttered.

"_Anyway_," Jack went on, "it was the same sort of thing, and one of my friends kept getting dreams like yours." he nodded and Jilly and Esther. "Eventually, it drove him mad. He went out in the middle of the night, screaming that he'd found the 'answer'- how to stop what was happening. He was found dead the next morning. He'd wandered into quicksand. I went back years later and found out what had happened. Some people had found this…thing, whatever was causing their Miracle, and they had found a way to get inside people's minds. Every time, it was people with troubled lives. Not enough money, marriage breaking up, unemployed, victims of assault, ect. It got inside their heads, showed them visions. They thought it was the answer to everything. That it could show them how to turn their lives around. And with the Miracle keeping them alive for ever, they had nothing to lose. None of them survived. So you two," again, he pointed at Esther and Jilly, "had better be careful. Don't think about it. If this really is what's going on, we'll find out and put an end to it, but that won't happen if you let it take over you. Because do you know the worst thing of all? Those people, the ones manipulating…whatever it was to get inside people's heads, they thought it was funny. They were doing it for a joke! We don't know what or who we are dealing with here, so for God's sake, _be careful_."

"It's ok." Esther replied. "We will be."

Jack looked at Jilly. "Relax, Harkness, I'm not stupid. I'll be careful."

Jack did relax a little, though he made a mental note to keep a close eye on the two of them, _just in case_.

Gwen suddenly remembered something. "Jack?"

"What?"

"When are we meant to check in at the hotel?"

Jack laughed. "Relax, Gwen, we've got plenty of time. We're not due there until…" he caught sight of the clock. "….20 minutes ago."

Jilly pulled her phone out and started dialling a number.

"What are you doing?" Rex asked.

"I'm calling the hotel to sort things out. Believe me; if you're late checking in you might not even get a room. I've stayed there several times, it's happened to me."

All the phones must have been busy, because Jilly ended the call and shoved her phone in her bag, looking annoyed. "Come on, let's go."

Jack looked surprised. "Hey! I'm the boss! Where are we going anyway?"

"The hotel, so I can get us our rooms?"

Jack thought this was probably the best thing to do, so didn't protest anymore.

"Welcome to the Miltonian Hotel, may I help you?" the black-haired receptionist asked, a smiled fixed to her face.

Jilly stepped forward, about to put skills from 5 years in PR to the ultimate test. She'd had to do this once before, and it hadn't been easy then. She could sort of understand, though. The Miltonian was an in-demand hotel.

"Hi, we have reservations in the name of Harkness, Jack Harkness." she said, giving the receptionist a sweet smile.

"I'm sorry, you're late and we've already promised three of your rooms to other guests." the receptionist replied, still with a friendly smile and an overly-sweet tone, which nobody believed for a second.

"I'm really sorry about that, we got a little held up."

"I'm sorry, but there's five of you and only two rooms."

"How many people can sleep in one room?"

"Both your _remaining_ rooms have two single beds and one sofa bed."

Jilly smiled. "Perfect. Can we have the keys, please?"

The receptionist, who's name tag introduced her as **Lucy- Happy to help!** gave them a filthy look, but reluctantly handed over the keys anyway.

"Thank you, and have a nice day. We hope you'll stay with us again." she said, not bothering to hide her sarcasm and annoyance.

"Well," Jilly replied, still keeping her sweet-and-friendly voice, with a smile on her face, "we hope you'll learn some manners next time we see you, then we really will have a nice day."

If looks could kill, Lucy would have just made each and every one of them a Category One. However, looks could _not_ (thankfully) kill, so she settled for jamming the keys into Jilly's outstretched hand, hard, and giving her another death-glare. Jilly was about to say something both clever and insulting when common sense caught up with her, and she just returned the Look she was getting and walked away.

"So, where are our rooms, then?" Gwen asked. "What floor, I mean."

Jilly checked the label attatched to the keys. "6th Floor. Rooms 28 and 29."

"Shall we take the lift, then?"

"I think you mean 'elevator'." Esther pointed out helpfully.

Gwen laughed. "Thank you, Miss Translation. So, shall we take the _elevator_?"

"Yeah, I think we should. I don't fancy climbing six flights of stairs."

Gwen pressed the button for what was now referred to as the elevator. It immediently lit up and the door opened, revealing what was probably the poshest lift any of them –except Jilly, who had been in the hotel before- had ever seen. The floor was wooden, and the walls were lines with mirrors. A gold railing ran round the sides. They walked in, most of them still marvelling at the fanciness of it all.

"I haven't seen a lift this nice since I was on Marhi Six." Jack declared. "Only this one isn't filled with large oval-shaped purple things."

With a _ding!_, the lift (or elevator) door opened, revealing a long corridor lined with many numbered doors.

"Our stop?" Gwen asked. "Or is there some fancy American word for that, too?"

"No." Esther replied. "To the extent of my knowledge, there is no American wording for 'our stop'."

"For once."

With a loud _ping_, the lift doors slid smoothly shut.

_Yet another example of Torchwood's tragic lack of professionalism._ Rex thought to himself as he pressed the button to re-open the doors. The others were so busy discussing the truly fascinating differences between American English and British English that they hadn't noticed. Well, let them stay there all day if they wanted to. They didn't even notice when the doors opened again, and they still didn't notice when he walked out of the lift. He was now faced with a dilemma; wait outside their rooms, which would be pointless as he would be locked out, or return to the lift and get the others out. The latter sounded better, but they might want to continue their conversation, and someone might walk past and think he knew them. Which he did. He was still debating this in his head when he heard voices from down the corridor. He turned his head to look and for a moment, he thought he was seeing Oswald and Jilly. Well, he _was_ seeing Oswald, but the woman next to him wasn't Jilly Kitzinger. She was too small, and he skin was too tanned. She had dark hair, and wore it up. But everything else, from what she was saying to how she said it, from her clothes to the way she walked, it all mirrored the redhead who had once been in her place. Instinctively, he stepped back against the wall. The woman with Oswald was Amelia. Amelia Ure, the lady who had pointed a gun at them last night. Amelia, who would probably try to kill Jilly, and the rest of them, into the bargain if she saw they were there. He felt himself tense slightly as they neared, but relaxed when Amelia opened a door and walked in, Oswald doing the same at the next door. The reality of it took a few seconds to sink in; Oswald and Amelia's rooms were right next to theirs.

**A/N: Well, I don't think I'd feel too happy if they were next door to me *shudders*. Maybe the team will move rooms or something….next chapter should have seen the start of the trial, but that may have to wait until Chapter Six. Sorry! Also, 'humour' wasn't and isn't one of the main genres, but I can't resist adding some in here and there….then again, I may be the only one who actually finds it humorous. Everyone is probably (mainly Jilly) very OOC here, but bear with me, I'm trying my best! Until next time, I love you all for reading and reviewing this (anyone wanna review this chapter? :D), and for adding to favourites and alerts. Shout out to Dark-Sky86, for adding this to their 'favourites' list! Ciao, guys!**

**GallifreyenCultOfSkaro**

**Xx pEaCe OuT xX**


	6. Who's That Girl?

**Kitzinger v Danes**

**Chapter Five: Evidence is Collected**

**Author's Note: I love writing this! Love all the views/hits it's getting! Love it all! Shout out to Lex 0 for reviewing. Hopefully you'll find out what their up to soon. **

**:)**

**Meanwhile, the girls flip a coin for the beds, Jack is being…..Jack, and Rex and Esther go out for dinner. And our heroes also receive a troubling visit in the middle of the night, and find out some bad news…**

_Amelia. Amelia and Oswald Danes. Next door. So much for avoiding them._

_What now?_

These thoughts were a fair representation of those currently swimming round Rex Matheson's head like lost little fishes. Little lost fishes that had absolutely no apparent use whatsoever, apart from annoying the hell out of him every time he tried to think. Sighing, he walked back to the lift, only to see the others waiting outside, arms folded, glaring at him.

"Thank you for walking away and leaving us." Gwen said as soon as he was within earshot. "I feel so loved right now."

"Don't blame me, you didn't even notice the elevator doors open, close, and open again before I left. Anyway, guess who our next-door-neighbours are?"

Esther caught on quickly. "You mean…..? Oh my God, seriously?"

"Please, if this is some kind of joke, give it up now." Jilly said, already knowing what the answer was going to be. Rex nodded.

"Yeah. We are sleeping next door to Oswald Danes and Amelia Don't-Mess-With-Me-I-Have-A-Gun Ure."

Gwen sighed. "Lovely. So much for coming here to avoid them. Where are they now?"

"In their rooms, and hopefully that's where they'll stay."

Jack rolled his eyes in such a way that it would've given Ianto a run for his money, had he still been alive. "Oh, come _on_. Whenever someone says something like that, the total opposite _always_ happens! You may as well invite them out to dinner and have done with it!"

"You know what I really love about you, Jack?" Gwen asked. "You're just such an optimist."

Jack nodded. "I try my best."

"Not very hard, then."

"Oi!"

"Keep it down!" another voice called, coming from somewhere down the hall. "Take it to your own room, and stop yelling outside mine!"

Jilly presented Jack with a small key. "You might want to use this to get into your room before that person comes out here and deafens you with their screaming. And yes, they really should update to key-cards, but if you have a problem, take it up with Miss Sunshine-and-Smiles downstairs."

Jack took the key and unlocked one of the doors. "So, who's my lucky roommate?"

All at once and in the same voice, the girls cried "Not me!"

"I feel so loved." Jack said, mock-despairingly.

Rex sighed dejectedly. "Me, then."

Jack grinned, showing a lot of white teeth. "Like I said, lucky."

Gwen gave a small giggle. "Have fun, boys." she said, opening the now-unlocked door. Jack walked inside, followed by Rex, who was looking like he'd just been told he only had 5 minutes to live. Jilly unlocked the other door, and stepped inside, followed by Esther and Gwen. The room was certainly large enough for the three of them, with two comfy-looking single beds and a squashy sofa in the corner that would later become a bed for one of them. A large mirror hung on one wall, whilst the wall opposite the door was mainly taken up with a window. Another door led to a blue-and-green en-suite, complete with bath and shower. The walls of the bedroom were a deep red in colour, and when the bedside lamps were switched on, the whole room had a cosy glow to it. Altogether, the girls thought, it was not a bad room. There was, however, one problem with it. Two single beds. One sofa bed. Who was getting what? It was Gwen who brought the subject up first, and Esther who quickly stepped in to resolve it.

"Right. Sleeping arrangements." (Gwen.)

"It's ok; I can take the sofa bed." (Esther.)

"No, that isn't fair." Gwen said. "You'd always say that, just to avoid an argument; me or Jilly will take it." As she spoke, she looked hard at Jilly, like she was silently warning her not to argue. "Right?"

"No, seriously, I don't mind." Esther said, not particularly caring that she was encouraging an argument rather than preventing one. "I've slept on worse."

Gwen reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, bronze coin. "Fine. We'll toss the coin. Heads, you take the sofa bed, tails, me and Jilly flip for it."

She flipped the coin and caught it neatly, before carefully removing her hand from its place on top of the penny.

"Tails." she announced. "Right, I'll take heads. If it's heads, I get the normal bed. If it's tails, Jilly does."

Once more, the small, round piece of metal went up into the air, and down again into Gwen's hands. "Heads. I get the bed, then."

She didn't bother trying to keep the slight smugness out of her voice, nor did she keep the slight smile off of her face as she plonked her bag down on the springy mattress, glad she didn't have the -probably hard- sofa bed.

Meanwhile, in room 27, Jack had also discovered the springiness of the mattresses.

"Hey, this is fun!" he called to Rex. "You should join me!"

"No way, Harkness, am I going to bounce up and down on that bed like the weirdo that you are. Unlike you, I _don't_ want management called on us." he replied.

"Aw, come on! Just try it!" Jack pouted, looking slightly put out. Rex tried ignoring him, which worked until someone knocked on the door, and Jack did not even make an effort to stop using the bed as a bouncy castle.

"Jack, Rex?" a voice on the other side of the door called. "It's Esther."

Rex opened the door. "Before you come in, you might wanna prepare yourself."

"For what?"

"Jack."

Esther was slightly confused. "Why, what's up with…" That was when she caught sight of the once-Immortal man still bouncing quite happily. "Ah."

Jack saw Esther staring and waved, grinning manically. "Hi, Esther! Come and try this!"

She shook her head. "I think I'll pass." She turned back to Rex. "You wanna go grab a bite to eat? Gwen's sleeping and Jilly's finishing putting together the stuff for next week on her laptop. I would have asked Jack to come too, but….well, he seems happy enough. I mean, you don't have to come, I just thought maybe…." She trailed off, slightly embarrassed. She and Rex got on well, and if anyone asked, they'd probably even say they were friends- but that didn't mean she had to feel confident asking him out for a meal, even if it was just as friends. What if he didn't like her enough to go out? She could have just wrecked everything in that one moment. Then, much to her amazed relief, he nodded.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Really? I mean, only if you want to…"

He nodded again. "Sure. I'll meet you outside."

She smiled. "Okay, then. I'll just go and get ready."

When Esther got back to her shared room, she found that not only Gwen, but also Jilly, had fallen asleep. Gwen was curled up on top of the bed she had won, and looked like she wouldn't be moving for some time. Jilly's laptop was still open, emitting a soft bluish glow, which provided just enough light for Esther to see that Jilly's head was resting on the keyboard. She dithered for a moment, unsure if she ought to switch on the light or not. The unlikeliness of it all suddenly hit her, all at once. Not just the Miracle, but other things, too. In the middle of all of it all, the last thing she had expected to be doing was being involved in a trial. Hell, it had been _her_ idea! She'd seen Oswald's 2006 trial –who hadn't?- but…this was weird. Testifying against him. And she never thought she'd find herself actually _working_ _with_ Jilly Kitzinger. _Against_ her, maybe, but this? And not only that, but Jilly was actually…well, a lot nicer than many people would think. Esther reminded herself, for the hundredth time, not to make any judgements. Jilly's 'nicer' side could just be an act, but, then again, so could the side everyone else saw. Alternatively, and slightly more complicatedly, it could _all_ be one great big act _anyway_, and just thinking about the whole thing gave Esther a headache, and took away most of her remaining faith in humanity, so she usually pushed it all to the back of her mind.

_I should probably get ready,_ she thought, quietly moving across the room, trying not to wake the other occupants.

Meanwhile, the small, rational part of Jilly Kitzinger's brain that was still awake, claimed, most determinedly, that she was _not_ dreaming of Shanghai.

**I'm so sorry I haven't updated in months and it's all probably OOC and I need to re-write it but oh well...!**

**I love you all. x**


End file.
